


The Short People Appreciation Society

by Ash0605



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Birthday, Chisato/Tsukushi if you use a microscope, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, Gen, PAREO is there but in the background, Short people appreciation, Tags Are Hard, Tsukushi is such a good bean, yet the writers gave her an epithet that dunks on her height im sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26485408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash0605/pseuds/Ash0605
Summary: Tsukushi gets invited to the first meeting of the Short People Appreciation Society at CiRCLE.Happy Birthday Tsukushi!
Comments: 10
Kudos: 32





	The Short People Appreciation Society

Tsukushi had remembered where CiRCLE was due to visiting with Mashiro and Touko at the beginning of the school year but it didn’t make travelling through Tokyo’s evening streets any easier. Summer had concluded and the prospect of travelling home in the dark was the only thing that made Tsukushi wish practice had ended earlier.

The urban streets continued to snake onwards, and Tsukushi picked up her pace once she passed a street corner she recognized. After a few more minutes of fast walking live house CiRCLE finally loomed into view. The darkness of the evening did nothing to dull the bright red and white colour of the building and the bright lights inside and the large windows on the front of the building illuminated the surrounding seating area.

Tsukushi scanned the piece of paper she was clutching in her hands to make sure she was at the right place and glanced at her watch to make sure she wasn’t late. The flyer in her hands had invited her to the ‘Short People Appreciation Society for CiRCLE Members’ and it was unlike a student of Tsukinomori to turn such a proposal down.

Moving away from the line of sight of the window, Tsukushi straightened up and neatened her pigtails and smoothed down and patted her yellow spotted dress. She hummed in finality to herself after deeming herself presentable and made her way to the automatic doors.

The reception room of CiRCLE was warmer than the open air, whether it be due to central heating, the welcoming bright lights or a sense of familiarity. Guitars and other musical instruments lined the wall behind the reception desk, while the desk itself was lined with cd’s or other pieces of music memorabilia. A familiar, black haired woman stood behind the desk, wearing low-cut blue jeans, a white and blue striped shirt and a black cardigan.

Marina greeted Tsukushi with a gentle wave and a hospitable smile. “Good evening! Are you here for the Short People Appreciation Society?”

“I am.” Tsukushi nodded politely.

“That’s great! The society is meeting in the music hall, which is just down the stairs over there!” She gestured towards the other side of the room. After bowing curtly and giving her thanks, Tsukushi walked to the other side of the room and made her way carefully down the steps.

At the bottom of the stairwell rested the hall where Tsukushi, Mashiro and Touko had all watched the CiRCLE live show at the onset of the school year. However, instead of being greeted with a large crowd, colourful stage lights and the anticipation of a performance she was greeted with a brightly lit room, an empty stage and a circle of six folding chairs in the center of the room. The only sounds in the room where Tsukushi’s footsteps and the small talk among the other members, all of which had just noticed her presence.

The girl in the seat closest to her turned around. She had short orange hair, blood red eyes and was visibly bouncing in her seat from excitement. Hagumi Kitazawa waved at Tsukushi with both of her hands. “Hello! I think I remember seeing you at the sakura viewing party!”

Tsukushi was taken aback by the loudness of her voice, but she did her best not to show it, instead giving a slight bow. “I remember seeing you too! I don’t think we talked much though. I’m Tsukushi Futaba.”

“I’m Hagumi Kitazawa! I think we’re only missing one person now, Chisato-senpai!” she cheered, turning around to deliver the second sentence to the girl sat opposite her.

“That’s right Hagumi-chan. It’s good to see you again Tsukushi-chan. I’ve got a seat reserved for you next to me here.” Her perfect posture and bright, confident smile made Tsukushi sure that Chisato was the one who had brought them all together. After sheepishly taking the seat next to her, Tsukushi’s eyes focused on anything that wasn’t the girl sat next to her.

Tsukushi recognized a girl who was sat opposite to her, who greeted her with a cheery wave. “It’s good to see you again Tsukushi-chan!”

“It’s good to see you too Rimi-chan.” Tsukushi replied back, reciprocating the wave.

Two pairs of footsteps resonated from the entrance to the music hall. The attention of the girls in the room was occupied by the two figures entering the room. One was rather short, with flowing red hair, a pair of cat eared headphones around her neck and a set of piercing blue eyes. The other was much taller, with her hair dyed in stripes of turquoise and bright pink. Similar pastel colours also adorned her clothing. Tsukushi recognized neither of them.

“I’ll be waiting in the CiRCLE lobby for when you finish, CHU2-sama!”

The younger girl replied with a slightly nervous “Ok.” as she took the last empty seat.

“Have fun! I hope you can make lots of new friends!” the taller girl cheered before making her way up the stairs happily. As soon as the taller girl left the room, the shorter girl’s eyes darted towards the floor as she moved between fumbling with her fingers and repositioning her headphones around her neck.

“Everyone is here, so I’ll start. Good evening everyone!” Everyone’s eyes returned to focus on Chisato. “This is the first meeting for the Short People Appreciation Society. It’s quite common for lots of short people to have complexes about their height, so I set up this group for the shortest members of CiRCLE so we could support each other and work through our issues.” She continued in a friendly, confident voice that easily carried itself to the four corners of the room. “I think going one at a time is the best way to start for now. Tell us your name, anything else you want to introduce yourself with and then something about your height, be a positive experience or a negative one. Feel free to divulge as much as you feel comfortable doing.”

Hagumi raised her hand swiftly. “Can I go first?”

“Of course you can. I respect your eagerness!”

Hagumi sprung to her feet. “I’m Hagumi Kitazawa, and I’m the bassist for Hello Happy World! I last measured myself at 152cm, but I originally measured 154cm because I forgot to take my performing hat off.” This earned a small chorus of laughter from the others, which helped Tsukushi feel a bit more at ease. “I don’t necessarily have anything wrong with my height, so I’m worried that I shouldn’t be here.” Hagumi admitted guiltily, her shoulders slumping.

“Don’t worry about that.” Chisato reassured gently. “We appreciate having you here regardless. If you have a positive experience it might help people who are struggling see things from another perspective.”

“Ah Ok! There is one way I view it, if you’re all okay with me telling?” Silence from the girls around her prompted Hagumi into continuing. “We perform a lot to preschoolers and young kids and sometimes younger kids are scared of Michelle due to how big she is. They always feel better after realizing Michelle is a really nice bear, but they still get scared in the first place. So I think that at least I’m not scaring the audience due to how big I am!”

Light applause from Chisato slowly prompted the others into joining in. “That’s a really nice way of viewing it!”

“It’s so sweet that you think about the audience that way Hagumi-chan!” Rimi cheered.

Hagumi chuckled to herself, putting a hand behind her head. “Thank you Rimi-rin!” Tsukushi couldn’t help but chuckle along. Her smiles were infectious.

“Does anyone else want to go next?” Chisato asked.

“Oh! Me! Me!” A short girl with crimson eyes and two distinct purple pigtails jumped to her feet. Tsukushi easily recognized the pigtails from the sakura viewing party, but the pair still hadn’t talked much during the event or since. “I’m Ako Udagawa and I’m the drummer for Roselia! I think my height is around 148cm, which is really frustrating! I wish I was as tall as my sister!”

“I get what you mean about Tomo-chin! I had to step on my tip toes to give her a high five once!” Hagumi lamented. “I could have reached her if she was smaller!”

“I don’t want my sister to be smaller! I want to be as tall as her because she’s super cool!” Ako slumped back into her chair defeatedly. “I suppose I’m hoping for a growth spurt now.”

“I think you’re plenty cool already Ako-chan! I really like your sense of style and you’re a really good drummer!” Rimi encouraged, leaning forward in her chair.

“You think so?” Ako asked meekly.

“I can agree with what Rimi-chan said. From one drummer to another I really admire your skill, and I swear I’ve heard Touko-chan talk about how good you looked after a live once.” Tsukushi added.

Hagumi jumped in too. “You’re so cool Ako-chin! You say so many complicated words, and you act really cool too!”

Ako wiped a stray tear from her eye as she chuckled to herself happily. “You guys are so right…!” She sat upright, made a pose with her hands and started chuckling menacingly. “Ku Ku Ku Ku! The source of this Demon Princess’s…un…stoppable power isn’t derived from her height!”

“That’s definitely a way of viewing it.” Chisato agreed, slightly confused. “I haven’t played many video games, but magical abilities come from training and technique, not physical size.”

“You’re so right Chisa-senpai! Thank you so much everyone!”

Chisato took this as a que to continue. “Does anyone else want to go next?”

“I’ll go next.”

Everyone’s eyes turned towards the girl next to Tsukushi, who had stood up and finally broke her silence. After a few seconds, she puffed out her chest as much as she could and started speaking. “I am CHU2, the leader, producer and DJ for RAISE A SUILEN. My exact height isn’t important, but my frustration with it is.” she announced.

Tsukushi worked up the courage to speak. “What frustrates you about it?” she said politely.

“Everything!” she burst out. Everyone else was taken aback and Tsukushi almost fell off her chair. “It’s so difficult to reach things! I hate having to ask for help from store attendants! Why are the buttons on the vending machine so high? I can’t get my favourite jerky from the machine without PAREO entering the number for me! I’m supposed to be the leader and producer for my band, yet I’m the smallest member! I feel like adults don’t take me seriously! Just… UGH.” CHU2 flopped back into her chair and crossed her arms in frustration. “Stupid world built for tall people.”

Tsukushi felt her eyes widen, but not just out of surprise at the younger girl’s outburst. Seeing another leader struggle with being the shortest really resonated with her, but the former reason prevented her from speaking up about it.

“It sounds like you are going through quite a lot.” Chisato emphasized. “Do you mind if I say something about it?”

“Go ahead.” CHU2 mumbled.

“You said that adults don’t tend to take you seriously. For me personally I find the inverse is also true. Most adults don’t deserve to be taken seriously either and the bigger they are the more they throw their weight around. The worst producers and directors I’ve ever worked with also happened to be the ones with the largest frames. I don’t think physical size correlates to skill or competence.”

“I know that!” CHU2 countered angrily. “So much of my music tends to prove them wrong! I love seeing the faces of my audience after a live! Its satisfying seeing skeptical adults realize the power of my music!”

“Does it need to change if its satisfying though? I think it’s quite cool that you’re proving them wrong.”

“I agree with that too!” Ako added.

“I know, but it’s just… it’s just frustrating. I wish I could make them change.”

“It’s okay to feel that frustration. The change you want won’t happen overnight though. It’ll happen as you get older or continue to prove them wrong with your music. You should focus on the feeling of satisfaction, not the frustration.”

After a few seconds, CHU2 straightened up, her brooding expression replaced with one of determination. “You’re right! I should focus on blowing them away with my music!”

“That’s the spirit!” Rimi cheered.

“I’ve got the coolest idea! Some CiRCLE members who worked part time got together to make a band! Why don’t the short people come together to make a band and perform?” Ako suggested enthusiastically.

“That’s such a cool idea Ako-chin!” Hagumi praised, leaning forward with sparkling eyes.

“As expected from one of my most prominent rivals.”

“I…I think that would be a good idea!” Tsukushi added.

“I agree too, but with 2 drummers, 3 bassists and a DJ it might not be possible.” Chisato explained sadly.

“It’s still an idea we can keep on the table, right?” Rimi asked.

“Of course.” CHU2 agreed. “Thank you for your help, everyone.”

“I’m happy we could help. Does anyone else want to say something?”

Tsukushi gulped, mustered her confidence and raised her hand. “May I go next?”

“Feel free.” Chisato encouraged gently.

After moving to her feet, Tsukushi took a few deep breaths before starting. “I’m Tsukushi Futaba, and I’m the drummer and leader of Morfonica. I’m the shortest member of my band, and it… really frustrates me. I have two younger sisters and the oldest of the two is already close to being taller than me. There are times where… I feel like I need to be taller.”

“You’re a short leader too!” Tsukushi turned to see CHU2 leaning towards her with a small grin. “I get frustrated about my height but not because of my leadership skills. I know the other members respect me and my skills.”

“Do you feel like the other members of Morfonica respect you and what you do?” Rimi asked politely.

“I do… feel like they respect me and they wouldn’t get practice sessions or lives… organized without me, but – “

“Does there need to be anything else? Why not leave it at that?” Chisato suggested. “You strike me as reliable enough already, and I know from seeing Morfonica’s lives that your organizational skills pay off.”

“Your special skills don’t come from your height Tsukushi-san!” Ako added.

“You mentioned you have siblings too, right? Are you reliable with them as well?” Hagumi asked curiously.

“You… could say so. I often help my mother make food, and I always help style their hair, help them with their work and keep them out of trouble.”

“Whoa!” Hagumi exulted. “You’re super reliable!”

“My older sister is super reliable to me too, so I really respect you for that!” Rimi complimented.

“Same with mine! You seem like such a cool older sister!” Ako cheered.

“You see?” Chisato leaned in and gave her a gentle smile. “You’re reliable already and, as Ako-chan said, you’re not going to suddenly get more reliable when you get taller. In fact if I may be so bold, I think being shorter might actually be better. Reliable people like you can give other people a shoulder to lean on, and you can’t do that easily if you are taller than the others!”

Tsukushi leaned back into her chair with wide eyes. The booming voice in her head continued to berate her for not being as tall as Rui, but the chorus of encouragement from outside was enough to silence that voice for now. Tsukushi couldn’t help but shed a tear in front of all the friendly, wonderful people in front of her.

“T…thank you everyone.” Tsukushi sniffled. “I still… think there’s a part of me that feels the need to be taller, but you’ve all really made me feel a lot better.”

The smiles of everyone else in the room seemed to brighten in unison. “A lot of these complexes are deep rooted, so its ok if it takes some time to free yourself from it. In fact, on that note,” Chisato turned to face the rest of the group. “I would love to do more of these sessions with you all, even if it turns into us talking about anything.”

“I would really appreciate that.” Tsukushi agreed.

“I would love to do this again!” Hagumi cheered.

“Same here Hagumi! I really want to meet with you all again!” Ako chirped.

“I would be really interested in doing this again.” CHU2 said genuinely.

“I might bring chocolate cornets or some of Saya’s buns next time!” Rimi suggested.

“That’s a great idea Rimi-chan, I might bring some food of my own too. With that agreed, I think it might be best to call it here for today. I don’t want any of you walking around here any later. I apologize for cutting you off before you could introduce yourself Rimi-chan.”

Rimi shook her head. “Don’t worry about it! I still feel a lot better talking to all of you about it.”

“I’m happy about that Rimi-chan.” Chisato smiled. “I wish you all a safe journey home. Make sure to keep yourselves safe!”

With the meeting concluded, the six members all started to make their way out and say their goodbyes. Tsukushi stayed back and watched Rimi leave while reciprocating her gentle wave. Ako and Hagumi then raced each other up the stairs, giving a quick but genuine goodbye to those still left. The taller girl from before came back down the stairs, and her and CHU2 left hand in hand leaving Tsukushi and Chisato alone in the room.

“I just wanted to say thank you for inviting me here. It really helped me feel better.” Tsukushi thanked.

“I’m glad it helped you. I know this kind of stuff is easy for me to say, but you’re more reliable than you give yourself credit for. You deserve to see yourself that way.” Chisato smiled.

Tsukushi looked down at the ground sheepishly. “I…I know. I’ll try my best.”

“That’s all you can do. Your house is quite far away from CiRCLE, right? Would you feel comfortable getting a taxi with me?”

Tsukushi nodded. “As long as I’m not a burden.”

“Don’t give me that. You’re never a burden.”

After Chisato cleaned up, her and Tsukushi left CiRCLE together. Whether it was her height complex or not having to walk home in the dark, there was a lot less for Tsukushi to worry about now than there was when she entered the building earlier.

**Author's Note:**

> I care Tsukushi immensely ok shes reliable she cares for Morfonica immensely and shes determined to become a hardworking and trustworthy person! I know that the epithet can be taken in two ways, both as dunking on her height and reaching for her ideal, but it doesn't take much to guess the conclusion that most people came to when they read that for the first time. I hope I did short people justice in this??? I don't even know what my height would be classed as (all I have to go off of is that my sister called me a manlet once), so I apologise if anything in this comes across as incorrect or not genuine.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! If you have any comments or feedback feel free to leave them here! If you want to reach out to me on twitter feel free to do so at @ash060500
> 
> I hope you have a good rest of your day and I wish you the best in staying safe.


End file.
